David eoussbatj



(No Model.) 3 4Sheets-Sheet 2.

D. ROUSSEAU.

Annunoiator;

I aten ed April 26,1881. FIG4.5-.

INVENTEIR= +0 6 e h s s t 6 UV h S 4 L A w E S .m S 0 n W R n n, y A D a d o M. o w

No. 240,768. Patented April 26, 1881,.

1 was.

W ENTUR= V WITNESSES:

".PETERS, FHOTQUTHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. D. C.

' (No'ModeL) 4Sheets-Sheet 4.

D. ROUSSEAU.

Annunoiator. I I No; 240,768. "Patented April 26,1881.

WITNESSES: r y I mvmrom ATTORNEYS.

N- PETERS, PNOTOLITHOGRAPHER WASHINGTON. D. G.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID nonssnnmon NEW YORK, N. 'Y.

AN NUNCI ATO R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 240,768, dated April .26, 1 881. Application filed February 19, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID ROUSSEAU, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Annunciators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates more especially to electrical annunciators for use as call-signals in hotels or other places to announce the location or nature of the call, and also for burglar or other alarms, to indicate the window, door, or room at which the circuit has been closed. As is well known, the essential parts of such annnnciators consist of electro-magnets and name plates or tags, which are hinged or pivoted and capable of a rising-and-falling movement before an opening in the glass front of the case, through which the indications are read. These name plates or tags have been made of various forms, commonly having two faces--a quiescent and announcing faceand have been arranged and pivoted in many ways relatively to the magnets; but in all, or nearly all, cases the armature of the magnet either acts directly or indirectly, when retracted, as a pawl to hold up the tag in its quiescent po sition, and when attracted, to release the tag and allow it to fall into its announcing position.

Now, the chief object of my improvements is to so shapcand pivotally arrange the tag I relatively to the magnet as to secure a more neat and compact apparatus, and to produce greater harmony and efficiency in the action of the parts.

Tothis end the leading feature of my invention maybe briefly stated to consist in a doublefaced name plate or tag, having its two faces I atright angles to each other, or nearly so, and arranged to circumscribe or inclose two sides of themagnet, and pivoted at the bisection of the angle on an axispassin g preferably through, or partly through, the body of the magnet, whereby greaterneatness and compactness are obtained and a more harmonious and efficient action insured.

My invention also consists in certain accessories of the magnets, hereinafter fully described. I

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 pre-' sents a side elevation of a magnet and tag and their accessories constructed and arranged acl the magnet-holder alone.

cording to my invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the magnet-holder and armature with the magnet removed. Fig. 3 is a plan view of Fig. 4 is a plan view of the magnet-holder, with tag shown in a dropped position and the armature and core of the magnet in place, but having its bobbin removed. Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional. elevation of an annunciator containing these features. Fig. 6 is an internal rear elevation thereof, the back of the case being removed. Fig. 7 is a sectional plan on lines 00 0c of Figs. 5 and 6. Fig. 8 is fragmentary rear elevation similar to Fig. 6, to show another device for raising the V magnets of the annunciator, each of which controls one name plate or tag, as usual, and consists of the usual core, a, covered by the wire coil or bobbin' 1). The circuit-wires conmeet with these several magnets from the battery and from the several apartments or windows or doors of the house, in the usual manner, which requires no description. It maybe observed, however, that each magnet is mounted on a holder, 0, of peculiar shape, which is shown best in the first figures. This holder is preferably made of malleable iron in one piece, its base being horizontal and parallel with the magnet, and from its back end rises an upright, 0, against which the back of the bobbin abuts, and to which the core a is riveted, as shown. The front of the base has a forked nose, d, in which the armature c is pivoted, and which has the form'of a bent lever, the long arm rising in front of the magnet-pole, while the short arm curves under the base, and

has a recess in which the free end of a spring,

f, presses to retract the armature into its engaging position. This spring, as may be observed, is a plate-spring, made preferably of sheet-steel, and underlies the base in parallel position, with its back extremity bent to seat against the base.

A screw, g, extends through a loose hole in the spring, near its back end, and screws tightly into the base, and thus serves to hold the spring in position, and at the same time adjust its tension.

From the sides of the base, and at or near its middle, two curved wings, h h, rise around the magnet, and terminate at or about the middle line of the magnet, as shown best in Figs. 1 and 2. From the tips of these wings small trunnions 'i 2' project outward, being formed preferably by wire pins driven into the wings, and on these trunnions the pivoted name-plate D swings. This name-plate, as may be observed, has two faces, 7c is, which are disposed at right angles to each other, and at the intersection of the angle two arms, 1 Z, project backward, straddle the magnet, and are pivoted onthe trunnions t t.

A tooth, m, projecting from the middle of the bend of the tag, is engaged on the square tip of a ratchet-tooth or protuberance on the front of the armature, which hence acts when retracted by its spring f into the position shown in Fig. 1 as a pawl to hold the tag in its raised or quiescent position.

The lower face, 7c, of the tag is what I call the quiescent face, as that is the one which always appears before the readin g-openin g of the case, as seen in Fig. l and in the upper part of Fig. 5 when the parts are quiescent or the magnet out of circuit, while the upper face, It, I call the announcing-face, as that is the one which falls before the readingopenin g as soon as the tag is released'by the circuitin g of the magnet and the attraction of its pawl-armature, as shown in Fig. 4 and in the lower part of Fig. 5. The lower face, It, is hence painted with a permanent number, name, or other device corresponding with the room, door, or window or other location'which itrep: resents, and the upper or announcing face, It, may, in the case of a burglar-alarm, be painted with the same device, but in a distinct color, to at once show when an announcement or alarm is made.

In case of an annunciator for hotels or similar purposes, however, I prefer to form the upper face of the tag with overbent edges n, to hold a temporary card, giving the name of the occupant of the room represented by the tag, or other particulars, which cards may be readily changed as the occupants change, as will be readily understood.

In case of a burglar-alarm, however, the lower face of the tag may be blank; but it is preferred to have each painted with the same device or distinguishing colors, so that when switches are used to throw any tag out of circuit, the tag corresponding to and over the switch may be surely found, and thus obviate the marking of the switches.

It may now be noted that the form of the name-tag and its pivotal position relatively to the magnet, its armature, and holder is peculiarly good. Thus the tag, whose faces are disposed at right angles to each other, always circumscribes or incloses two sides of the magnet, and it swings from a center and in a circle which is symmetrical with the exterior outline of the magnet, its armature and holder, as indicated by the dotted arc in Fig. 1.

It will be further seen that by this construction the tag makes in its movements just onequarter turn, and that when it has fallen the lower face comes parallel with the base of the magnet, and is stopped by contact therewith, or with the screw "(1, while, when the tagis raised, the upper face becomes parallel with the top of the magnet, and is stopped from further movement by the en gagementof the tooth m with the tip of the armature e, and the contact of the latter against the magnet-pole. This form and arrangement of the described parts is thus not only very compact and neat, but a number of incidental functions, so to speak, are produced by the relative positions of the parts, which enable the same part to answer several purposes, and thus greatly simplify the construc- I tion, while the action of the several parts is rendered harmonious, easy, and certain.

It may be readily understood that it is not essential that the two faces of the tag be precisely at a right angle, as they may "ary sligh tly but not materially from this; and, furthermore, the tag may be curved in the form of a quarter-circle or more concentric with its-trunnions, which will provide a double face at substan tiall y right angles, same as the rectangular form of tag, the latter being, however, preferable. It may be also noted that the position of the trunnions i i or axis of the tag in ay be slightly variedthat is, may be farther back or forward or up or down. In all cases, however, it will be readily seen that it will be desirable to have this axis pass through the body of the magnet, and it will be seen that in the construction illustrated it is placed about midway of the magnet, or just at such a radius as will freely circumscribe the magnet, its holder, and armature, for it may be seen that any shorter radius than this would not do, and anything longer secured to metal bars, 19 p, which cross the interior of the case, by a screw, r, (see Fig. 1,) which passes through the bars and screws into the upright c of the magnet-holder,-while the tenon s of the magnet-core, which is swaged in the upright, is prolonged into a hole in the bar above the screw, thus serving to prevent the turning of the magnet-holder on the bar, so that the one screw 1" serves to hold the same firmly in position.

When the tags are dropped as they give an announcement, they are subsequently raised 7 by the attendant pulling on the hand-knob t, which projects below the case, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, and connects with the raiser within the case. This raiser consists of two or more upright bars, a a, which rise between pairs of the magnets, are guided in suitable guides, and connect to a common cross-bar, which in turn connects to a knob. t, a spring, '0, being arranged to constantly lift the raiser into the position shown. From the bars at of the raiser, forked arms 10 extend toward and over one of the pivotal arms of each of the tags, which is prolonged backward to lie in the path of said forks w, as shown in Fig. 5, so that when the raiser is depressed any or all of the tags which are dropped will be raised thereby and caught by their armature-pawls, without affecting any of the tags which are already raised.

Instead of using the form of raiser just described, another form may be used, which is shown partly in Fig. 5, and specially in Fig.8. This consists of a pendent bar, or, hung from the trunnions at the end of one row of magnets, and disposed horizontally beneath the row, in a position to contact with the edges of the tags when fallen, as shown in Fig. 5. The hand-knob t, in this case, projects from the front of the case (see Figs. 5 and 8) and connects to alever, 3 pivoted in the bottom of the case, with its free end bent up to contact with the bar as, and a spring, a, arranged to constantly pullit back, the operation of which will be readily understood.

Having thus fully described my invention,

1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In electrical annunciators for call-signals, the combination, with the magnet, of a name plate or tag having two faces about at right angles to each other, iuclosing two sides of the magnet, and pivoted at the bisection of the angle in an axis passing partly or entirely through the magnet, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination, with the actuating-magnet in an annunciator, of a swinging'name plate or tag formed with two faces at right angles to each other, or nearly so, and pivotally arran ged with such relation to the magnet as to inclose the same on two sides, in either of its positions, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, with the magnet of an annunciator, of a name-plate having twofaces at right angles and hung on an axis at or about the middle of the magnet, and at a radius which circumscribes the armature end of the magnet with the armature of said magnet, ar-

ranged to engage and support the tag in the manner of a pawl at the angle or middle part of the tag, substantially as herein shown and 

